Wednesday 18 July 2012

Transport Select Committee Road Safety Report is not good enough

A Transport Select Committee report on Road Safety “should have gone further” to quantify the effects of changing the speed limit to 80mph says South Manchester MP John Leech.

Mr Leech had proposed an amendment to the report to ask the Department for Transport to set out “the financial implications of the proposals and a calculation of the expected increase in deaths and serious injuries as a result of the increased speed limit."

John has repeatedly argued that the speed limit should not be raised without evidence that this would not compromise road safety and lead to an increase in fatalities.

John Leech says: “Until I see evidence to the contrary, I will continue to believe that raising the speed limit would cost money, increase death on the road and harm the environment. The Department for Transport need to do a full assessment on the impact that raising the speed will have on road deaths and accidents along with a full report on the financial implications. The report needed to be stronger and more critical on the Government’s failure to carry out these much needed assessments.”
 
The Road Safety Report published on 18/07/12 can be found here http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/transport-committee/
 
John's amendment to the report were as follows.


Page 33, para 48, line 23.
After limit add “It is of concern that there has been no calculation by the Government as to the costs associated with stricter enforcement of an 80mph limit and creating more variable speed limits on sections of the motorway network deemed inappropriate to see an increase to 80mph
Page 34, para 49. At the end add
“ , with the Department setting out the financial implications of the proposals and a calculation of the expected increase in deaths and serious injuries as a result of the increased speed limit.”
The amendments were voted down.

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